U.S. and European officials told Reuters that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will offer support for ElBaradei's candidacy as director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"The U.S. will support ElBaradei but it wants some things in return," a European diplomat told Reuters, adding these issues involved Iran and the general fight against nuclear arms proliferation. The diplomat did not elaborate.

IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky confirmed that ElBaradei had been invited to Washington but declined to give details, tells Reuters.

Mr. Bolton had convinced his colleagues at the State Department and the White House that Dr. ElBaradei should be ousted, but administration officials said he had failed to win international backing or to persuade anyone with comparable credentials to step forward to replace him.

A senior administration official said that Mr. Bolton's efforts "never got enough altitude" and that more recently he had been involved in getting himself confirmed for the United Nations job, with no one else in the administration ready to step in and push what he started.